Multi-Level Auto Attendants (MLAA) allows you to set up a hierarchical menu structure that provides callers with better self-service access to the department or person they're trying to reach. In an MLAA system, callers reaching the Auto Attendant are routed from the main menu through to one or more additional sub menus (menu nodes) until their call is answered.
You can program up to 10 multi-level menus, each with its own greeting and prompts. The greeting at the top level (called the main menu node) is the primary company greeting with the usual prompts to dial an extension number, "0" for an operator, and other digits to reach destinations such as Sales or Technical Support. At the subsequent levels (the sub menu nodes) the greetings prompt callers to make further selections. The greeting for a Technical Support node might offer choices based on product type as follows:
"For 3300 ICP technical support, press 1. For 3100 ICP technical support, press 2. For all other products, press 3. To return to the previous menu, press star. To repeat the choices, press pound."
From this menu, dialing 1 or 2 transfers the caller to a technical support representative. Dialing 3 might route the caller to yet another sub menu node with more choices.
Notes:
The * (star) and # (pound) prompts help ensure that the system is easy to use. Be sure to include them in your greetings, particularly the * prompt if you have multiple menu levels.
Calls from rotary phones are not supported by the Auto Attendant. If a caller calls into the auto attendant using a rotary phone, the system will eventually transfer the caller to the operator. However, if the system has routed the call to a level within a mailbox menu tree, the caller will hear the mailbox greeting three times before being transferred to the operator.
For each menu node, you can determine the system's behavior if a caller does not (or cannot) enter anything:
divert the caller to the operator (default), or
terminate the call
Diverting a call to the operator:
The greeting is repeated three times, then the call is forwarded to:
The menu node operator or the menu node mailbox (programmed in the VM Multi-Level Auto Attendants form).
If the menu node operator is not programmed, the call is diverted to the system operator or system operator mailbox (programmed in the VM Mailboxes or User and Device Configuration form).
If the system operator is not programmed, the call is sent to mailbox 0.
Note: If both the menu node operator and the system operator are programmed, preference is given to the menu node operator.
Terminating the call:
The greeting is repeated three times, then the call is terminated.
None.
Refer to Setting up Multi-Level Auto Attendant for programming instructions.
None.
